This cactus is having a similar problem and I'm wondering if it may be from watering as well.
Thank you for the help.
Concerned for this cactus
Concerned for this cactus
A cactus of mine appears to be sick. I am not sure what species it is. The extremity is losing green skin and there is a tiny section towards the bottom of the cactus that is also losing skin. The cactus is pretty soft on the extremity but it is new and from what I've seen it has never been tough or hard. There has never been any spines on the cactus during my ownership of it either. I think it may have been overwatered and due to the hurricane it has not received much sunlight for the last several days. Any help on salvaging this cactus is greatly appreciated. I dug out a fair bit of soil from its plastic pot and replaced it with miracle gro soil for cacti and succulents. How can I save it?
This cactus is having a similar problem and I'm wondering if it may be from watering as well.
Thank you for the help.
This cactus is having a similar problem and I'm wondering if it may be from watering as well.
Thank you for the help.
Re: Concerned for this cactus
Except for some scab, which does not look like it was caused by a plant pathogen, I do not see anything wrong with that variegated prickly pear cactus.
I do like the interesting pattern on the cladodes. The lesions could have been caused by mechanical damage to the new pad or perhaps by sunburn, or even insect pests. But I believe, most likely it is mechanical injury, which bruised the tender growth.
The red Gymnocalycium cactus also may have suffered some kind of injury. Keep an eye out for any changes of the lesion. If a rot organism was able to enter the body of the cactus, it will be very difficult to save it. You then would need to remove the decaying tissue and then re-graft it onto the Hylocereus rootstock. The top part of your plant is not able to survive on its own, because it is lacking chlorophyll. So you have to take great care to keep the lower cactus healthy. At the top of the green cactus stem on the left side is there a discoloration and softening of the area right underneath the lesion of the red cactus? I hope, that this is not the case and the greyish appearance is only due to the lack of light at that location.
Harald
I do like the interesting pattern on the cladodes. The lesions could have been caused by mechanical damage to the new pad or perhaps by sunburn, or even insect pests. But I believe, most likely it is mechanical injury, which bruised the tender growth.
The red Gymnocalycium cactus also may have suffered some kind of injury. Keep an eye out for any changes of the lesion. If a rot organism was able to enter the body of the cactus, it will be very difficult to save it. You then would need to remove the decaying tissue and then re-graft it onto the Hylocereus rootstock. The top part of your plant is not able to survive on its own, because it is lacking chlorophyll. So you have to take great care to keep the lower cactus healthy. At the top of the green cactus stem on the left side is there a discoloration and softening of the area right underneath the lesion of the red cactus? I hope, that this is not the case and the greyish appearance is only due to the lack of light at that location.
Harald
Re: Concerned for this cactus
The cacti are normally indoors but I've decided to leave these cacti, along with a cinnamon cactus, outdoors since the forecast is expected to be around 90º and sunny. I won't be watering them any time soon as I'm concerned that watering may have caused the issue. I'm very new to owning cacti, so I'm not sure if the course of action I've chosen is the best choice. I appreciate the suggestions.
If I could get a little advice on cactus care, I'm curious about how frequently I should water the cactus and how much water I should use. For what it's worth, I live in a tropical climate where it is very hot and humid. I keep them inside when it's not raining and at night, I only have eastern and western exposure, and I have miracle gro soil for cacti and succulents and plant food at the ready should I need it. As for the gymnocalycium, I have not noticed a discoloration or softening of the stem
If I could get a little advice on cactus care, I'm curious about how frequently I should water the cactus and how much water I should use. For what it's worth, I live in a tropical climate where it is very hot and humid. I keep them inside when it's not raining and at night, I only have eastern and western exposure, and I have miracle gro soil for cacti and succulents and plant food at the ready should I need it. As for the gymnocalycium, I have not noticed a discoloration or softening of the stem
Re: Concerned for this cactus
Well, let's talk first about general rules in cactus cultivation. I do live in a very dry and hot environment, which is probably better for growing desert cacti than where you live. Because of our intense solar radiation, I found, that a cactus will do better, if exposed to the east than facing a western exposure. There are some cacti, which can handle the full brunt of the sun, but even those will look healthier when they receive filtered light during the hottest part of the day. Fortunately for you, Opuntia spp. are generally easy to grow. You do need to look out though, that the plant receives enough light at a sufficient intensity, in order to prevent etiolation, which is an unnatural growth (elongation) that is disastrous not only for the appearance of the plant, but also may lead to it to topple over or break off.
Next in importance is the growing medium. For desert cacti I would suggest using very little organic matter in either the pot or for the in-the-ground plants in your garden. It should drain well and may consist of perlite, vermiculite, fine gravel, or even unscented cat litter. Potting soil does usually contain peat moss, which is detrimental to good cactus growth, because it leads to storing too much water and thus root rot. If you decide to grow your plants in a soilless environment, you will need to fertilize them perhaps twice a year, in early spring and maybe late summer, early fall.
Use a fertilizer that does not contain a high Nitrogen content. If the numbers on the formula are equal in size, that is fine. I try to use a fertilizer, which does have a large second number, because that stands for the letter "P" (phosphorus). Phosphorus is needed for flowering and fruiting of every plant. The first letter "N" denotes the element Nitrogen, which helps the vegetative growth of plants, while the last "K" is the third major plant food component Potassium. What you need to keep in mind is, to only use 1/2 the recommended dosage. For the cacti, which are considered "jungle cacti", you can use regular potting soil and a full allotment of fertilizer. Those plants form strap-like, flattened stems and would grow well where you live.
Examples of these would be the genus Epiphyllum, Schlumbergera, Rhipsalis, etc.
AS far as watering is concerned, there are also differences, with the "jungle cacti" doing fine with a moister root environment. Opuntia spp. and other "desert cacti" prefer it, when the soil (growing medium) is heavily watered and then let dry out. If a cactus needs water, the skin will show a slight shriveling or the whole stem will decrease in diameter. The ribs will become more pronounced. Most people, including yours truly, tend to overwater cacti and then wonder, why the plant developed a root rot. However, while cacti do store water in their tissue, they still will need to receive water every once in a while. I did read here on the blog, that some growers will actually weigh the plant, then water it and weigh it again, and then water it again, once the weight decrease brings the "dry weight" close to what it had been before the last watering. Others will tell you to poke your finger in the pot and water, when about one inch down it feels dry. Because I do purchase a lot of small cacti, I did ask the nursery man selling them how often he waters his cacti. I was told, that it is done about every other day. However, only small volumes are applied, because the plants and their pots are small. A tiny cactus cannot store a sufficient amount of water in its tissue over a long period of drought, while a large plant may survive these extremes.
About your "Moon" or "Cinnamon" cactus. It is grafted onto a Hylocereus sp. stem. That cactus in my opinion can be classified as a "jungle cactus", but seems to be one of the genera, which are preferred for grafting. If the lesion is not softer than the area opposite to it or the top of the plant, then most likely there is nothing wrong with the Gymnocalycium sp. graft.
One strange thing I have noticed though. Another person, with the nick of Brunoordino, on this thread does have an almost identical lesion on his grafted Gymnocalycium, which is also placed on a Hylocereus rootstock. Her/his grafted cactus does have a different color though than your plant.
Both her/his and your lesions are near the graft union. This is definitely a little puzzling, because it would be almost too much of a coincidence, to experience a basically identical lesion at the same location of the plant.
Harald
Next in importance is the growing medium. For desert cacti I would suggest using very little organic matter in either the pot or for the in-the-ground plants in your garden. It should drain well and may consist of perlite, vermiculite, fine gravel, or even unscented cat litter. Potting soil does usually contain peat moss, which is detrimental to good cactus growth, because it leads to storing too much water and thus root rot. If you decide to grow your plants in a soilless environment, you will need to fertilize them perhaps twice a year, in early spring and maybe late summer, early fall.
Use a fertilizer that does not contain a high Nitrogen content. If the numbers on the formula are equal in size, that is fine. I try to use a fertilizer, which does have a large second number, because that stands for the letter "P" (phosphorus). Phosphorus is needed for flowering and fruiting of every plant. The first letter "N" denotes the element Nitrogen, which helps the vegetative growth of plants, while the last "K" is the third major plant food component Potassium. What you need to keep in mind is, to only use 1/2 the recommended dosage. For the cacti, which are considered "jungle cacti", you can use regular potting soil and a full allotment of fertilizer. Those plants form strap-like, flattened stems and would grow well where you live.
Examples of these would be the genus Epiphyllum, Schlumbergera, Rhipsalis, etc.
AS far as watering is concerned, there are also differences, with the "jungle cacti" doing fine with a moister root environment. Opuntia spp. and other "desert cacti" prefer it, when the soil (growing medium) is heavily watered and then let dry out. If a cactus needs water, the skin will show a slight shriveling or the whole stem will decrease in diameter. The ribs will become more pronounced. Most people, including yours truly, tend to overwater cacti and then wonder, why the plant developed a root rot. However, while cacti do store water in their tissue, they still will need to receive water every once in a while. I did read here on the blog, that some growers will actually weigh the plant, then water it and weigh it again, and then water it again, once the weight decrease brings the "dry weight" close to what it had been before the last watering. Others will tell you to poke your finger in the pot and water, when about one inch down it feels dry. Because I do purchase a lot of small cacti, I did ask the nursery man selling them how often he waters his cacti. I was told, that it is done about every other day. However, only small volumes are applied, because the plants and their pots are small. A tiny cactus cannot store a sufficient amount of water in its tissue over a long period of drought, while a large plant may survive these extremes.
About your "Moon" or "Cinnamon" cactus. It is grafted onto a Hylocereus sp. stem. That cactus in my opinion can be classified as a "jungle cactus", but seems to be one of the genera, which are preferred for grafting. If the lesion is not softer than the area opposite to it or the top of the plant, then most likely there is nothing wrong with the Gymnocalycium sp. graft.
One strange thing I have noticed though. Another person, with the nick of Brunoordino, on this thread does have an almost identical lesion on his grafted Gymnocalycium, which is also placed on a Hylocereus rootstock. Her/his grafted cactus does have a different color though than your plant.
Both her/his and your lesions are near the graft union. This is definitely a little puzzling, because it would be almost too much of a coincidence, to experience a basically identical lesion at the same location of the plant.
Harald